Mr Brendan Fallis is currently living out a very New York kind of story. Having come to the city on a lark back in 2007 - essentially as part of a layover on his way back to his native Canada - Mr Fallis took up a friend's surprise offer to let him stay in town indefinitely, and found a job. It turned out to be a defining moment for him. "I came [to New York] and there was that energy that just couldn't be denied," recalls Mr Fallis. "It's kind of that classic 'small town boy comes to the big city to make good' type of story."

For Mr Fallis, making good includes establishing a name for himself both as a DJ and a wily, multi-talented entrepreneur. Early on he honed his DJ skills while providing the soundtrack to upscale Manhattan restaurants ("I basically DJ'd at POP Burger as a way to get free food"), while simultaneously working at Launch Collective - a creative consulting firm that serves as an incubator for a variety of burgeoning fashion labels.

"I knew I loved a wide variety of music, but hearing DJs in New York that would play a little bit of everything - doo-wop, hip-hop, the Stones, whatever - really inspired me to do it myself," he recalls. "And as much as I just loved playing music for people, it was also just a very practical thing for me to do. I was kind of amazed when I realised that this is something I could do for money, that it could actually help me make a living."

DJing, as it turned out, not only helped pay the rent and then some (Mr Fallis has become one of the most sought-after and heavily booked DJs in the city), but soon led him to a second career in artist management. After booking a tour as the opening DJ for Brooklyn rapper Mr Theophilus London, Mr Fallis eventually became his manager - a job that dovetails nicely with what he considers his own innate sense of Canadian practicality. "We just hit it off," he says. "When you are with someone day to day on the road you can see how they work, where the holes are in the operation, and how you can save money and make money. I've always been pretty savvy in that way. Still, managing is hard. You have to be the bad guy sometimes."

It's kind of that classic 'small town boycomes to the big city to make good' typeof story

These days Mr Fallis is engaged in another very New York activity - career multitasking. In addition to his rigorous DJ schedule and managerial duties, the industrious 33-year-old is also a partner in Waiola Coconut Water - an upscale, 100% pure version of the much-beloved natural drink that is sourced in Thailand and currently served and sold in some of the chicest spots around the world. Though his various jobs might seem a little incongruous, Mr Fallis couldn't be happier. His success is due in large part to the fact that he's a hard worker, but perhaps more importantly, he is, according to many, notorious for being one of the nicest people in New York City. Things have fallen into place pretty naturally, says Mr Fallis: "These jobs all come together in some weird way, even though they all seem really unrelated. I think more and more people my age are just figuring out how to make a career out of things they already enjoy doing - you just learn how to create a job utilising your own skill sets."

Still, he admits, balancing three different and increasingly demanding vocations is far from simple: "I have a manager now, so I have the incredibly weird experience of both being a manager and having a manager. It makes my life easier, but it can be very strange."

Though Mr Fallis had a brief dalliance with the modelling world back in Canada ("I once did a very low-budget ad for Speed Stick," he laughs), his rising status as a tastemaker and oft-photographed paragon of style is one that still feels more than a bit foreign to him. "It's always weird to me that anyone might know who I am," he says. "I appreciate the fact that people like my style - I try and do my best in that regard - but I don't think of myself as particularly fashiony. I'm actually pretty minimalist - I like basics and classics. I'm mostly concerned with having things that are cut well and fit me nicely and are well made. That's way more important to me than having the hottest, latest thing by some fancy new designer."